North Carolina – Republicans
Frivolous Lawsuits
Senate Chieftain Phil Berger reared up on his hind legs last week and, ripping into lawyers, said one way or the other he’s going to pass his bill to end ‘frivolous lawsuits.’ Only there’s one problem. The bill Senator Berger’s dead set on passing isn’t really about ending frivolous lawsuits. Instead, the Medical…
Read MoreCan the GOP Stand Pat?
Everybody assumes there will be a governor’s race next year between Bev Perdue and Pat McCrory. Hold the mayo. Some conservative Republicans (and I’m not talking about Carter; I haven’t asked him) aren’t excited about McCrory. They don’t see much difference between him and Perdue. They’re casting around for a real conservative…
Read MoreThe Smell Test
John Deere Company wanted the state to buy more of its tractors. So its lobbyist set to work and Republican House Leader ‘Skip’ Stam proposed a bill to change how the state bids tractor buying contracts. Stam’s bill sailed through the legislature, then the newspaper reported John Deere’s political committee gave seven of the…
Read MoreA Job-Killing Budget
Maybe it’s congenital. Democrats love complexity – and loathe simplicity. So it is with state Democrats’ message about the Republican budget. Yes, Governor Perdue has pulled up her polling numbers by standing up to the legislature – and saying the Republican budget hurts education. But it’s hard to prove: that education was…
Read MoreNo Holds Barred
Before it went home the legislature passed Representative George Cleveland’s bill to require employers to use the federal government’s E-verify program to avoid hiring illegal immigrants. Which sounded fine. Until I figured out I’ll have to use E-Verify. Which I’m guessing (since this is the government) may be like figuring out hieroglyphics. Irritated, I thought,…
Read MoreThe Winners
A friend asked who the winners were in the legislature: Governor Perdue or the Republicans? My answer: both. Thanks to the legislature, Perdue got herself back in the reelection game. By taking on the legislature and wielding some big vetoes, she put some steel into what had been her mushy public image. …
Read MoreIrony
Leaning across the table, Eric, who attended Divinity School in Edinburgh, handed the press release from Redistricting Chairmen David Lewis and Bob Rucho to Richard, the intellectual, and said, This reads like a legal brief written by a Harvard lawyer set on explaining no matter how much sinning his clients are doing it’s perfectly fine…
Read MoreRaleigh, DC?
Is Raleigh becoming a local copy of Washington’s bitter partisanship and polarization? Long-time lobbyists say they’ve never before seen the level of anger, acrimony and arrogance that marked the Republicans’ first session. Some blame the Republicans’ determination to get everything all at once – and get back at anybody who stands in their…
Read MoreSlipped Through
It’s strange how the wheels and cogs turn in the state legislature. Senators and Representatives sit and lolly-gag for months then a week before they go home all hell breaks loose and the floodgates open and suddenly 170 legislators are working day and night trying to pass hundreds of bills. It looks crazy. But…
Read MoreChicken Littles
Iâm certainly prepared to believe that the Republican budget will damage education in North Carolina. But when it comes to the dire warnings about damage to the environment, Iâm a skeptic. Itâs a skepticism honed by 40 years of hearing environmentalists warn that the sky (and air and land) are falling into ruination, while…
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